Investigating the role of spoken language on the perceptual evaluation results based on the GRBAS scale-A primary study

Objective: Identifying and evaluating voice disorders is an introduction to the onset of treatment. Perceptual evaluation based on the GRBAS scale reports each person’s voice quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of spoken language on the perceptual evaluation results based on the GRBAS scale.

Methods/Design: In this study, 50 voice samples with disorders were used in both Persian and Japanese. The tasks of samples include prolongation of 6 vowels, counting and reading the text. These samples were evaluated by 15 evaluators with over 5 years of clinical experience in the field of voice disorders. In each voice sample group, 5 samples were repeated.

Results: The results show that the highest and lowest percent of the correct response rate of perceptual evaluation were respectively in the (G) and (R) in Japanese samples and in the (G) and (A) in the Persian samples. The degree of recognition of the evaluators in both voice samples represents the highest degree of recognition in the text reading task.
The amount of similar response of each evaluator to similar samples is greater in Persian samples than Japanese ones.

Conclusions: Perceptual evaluations, such as the GRBAS scale, play a significant role in determining the severity of the disorder. Cultural and linguistic factors influence the results of this perceptual scale and scoring.